Leaders Supporting Diversity Transparency (Talking About Data)

Leaders Supporting Diversity Transparency

Foundation and nonprofit leaders voice
support for first-of-its-kind program to collect
diversity data from nonprofits at scale

On October 16, 2014, Green 2.0 announced a groundbreaking collaboration with GuideStar and the D5 Coalition to gather diversity data in a standardized way across the non-profit sector. Green 2.0 will partner to highlight the participation of environmental organizations. On December 9th at the “Breaking the Green Ceiling” Forum hosted by Green 2.0 and New America Media, it was announced that several of the nation’s leading green groups have pledged to submit their diversity data. Organizations can pledge to submit their diversity data by February 2015 by following the link below.

Foundation and nonprofit leaders, in the statements below, have voiced strong support for the new effort.

Statements by Sector Leaders

“To continue to build a strong and just environmental movement, it is critical that we improve diversity among its leaders. I commend the organizations and foundations that have committed to openness and transparency on diversity and submitted their diversity data. However, it is troubling that some Green organizations and the foundations that support them have not taken this initial step towards a more diverse sector. Diversifying Green organizations and foundations will make them more effective in addressing current and future environmental challenges. The Green movement and the country’s people of color deserve nothing less.”

Rep. Raúl Grijalva

U.S. Congressman (D-AZ), Ranking Member on the Natural Resources Committee

Foundation Statements

“As an organization rooted in the pursuit of social justice we know how critical the diversity of our staff and board is, both in representation and perspective. Recognizing and achieving this goal can be two separate matters and we have work to be done. We must recognize and celebrate diversity as a strength in all that we do and I am pleased to join this effort by D5, Green 2.0 and GuideStar to bring transparency and urgency to this front. Stepping forward as a sector to address where we can improve on matters of diversity will allow us to learn from one another and improve our organizations.”

“The Bullitt Foundation recognizes the urgent need to genuinely diversify the mainstream movement, not with symbols and tokens but by making it relevant to all people. Bullitt has benefitted greatly from a diverse staff and board, and our program accomplishments have been shaped by that involvement. The first Earth Day in 1970, of which I was the principal national organizer, embraced inner city groups fighting freeways that were poised to crush their neighborhoods and farm workers who were suffering nerve damage from the pesticides being sprayed over their heads. Rats were an environmental issue, as was lead paint. At its birth, the environmental movement was a big tent, welcoming to all who shared its basic commitment to a healthy, resilient, equitable, peaceful future. We need to return to those roots. The BullittFoundation was quick to embrace the chance to participate in this groundbreaking initiative by Green 2.0, GuideStar and D5 to track data at scale, and we strongly encourage our peers to join as well. We are all most likely to improve the things that we measure.”

“The California Endowment is thrilled to participate in and support this sector-wide effort in philanthropy. A more robust future for our nation will require greater attention to the inclusion of diverse leaders and stakeholders in addressing an array of important civic challenges.”

“The Kresge Foundation has long believed that nonprofit organizations are more effective in achieving their missions when their board and staff members are reflective of the populations they serve. For many years we have required that grantseekers provide us with information concerning the demographic characteristics of their board and staff, and we have inquired about grantees’ diversity practices.

“We endorse this effort form GuideStar, D5 and Green 2.0 to gather information about demographic data and diversity practices of nonprofit organizations and foundations, and the special focus on the environmental sector given the recently documented diversity challenges. We think it will be helpful for the sector to employ standard reporting metrics. It will allow for comparisons across organizations and, hopefully, simplify the reporting process for participating organizations.

“Kresge will encourage all of its grantees to participate in this voluntary data-collection effort by GuideStar, D5 and Green 2.0.”

“The Hewlett Foundation is pleased to make our diversity data available as part of our commitment to transparency and openness in the philanthropic sector. By contributing to this effort led by Green 2.0, GuideStar, and D5, we hope to help establish a baseline of information from environmental funders and NGOs that better informs the important work of building more inclusive organizations and strengthening our collective impact.”

“The W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s journey toward racial equity, diversity and inclusion has extended over decades. We applaud this sector-wide effort and fully believe that tracking and sharing data is essential to gauge our progress, correct our course as necessary and to remain true to our vision and goals for this work. That’s why for the past decade, we have measured and reported our workforce composition and employee and trustee demographics to our external website and actively work with grantees to collect data, demographics and plans for engaging diverse communities in their work.”

“The Rockefeller Brothers Fund supports the collaboration between D5 and GuideStar to facilitate standardized and widely accessible organizational reporting of staff and leadership diversity information through the GuideStar Exchange. In the wake of recently documented diversity challenges in the environmental sector, we are pleased as well to see the partnership with Green 2.0 to encourage participation from the mainstream environmental movement. This is an important step forward to build better transparency and understanding about diversity across the nonprofit sector.

“The Fund has long been committed to sharing diversity data on its staff, leadership, and operations, including related information on our website and annual publication, Charting Our Progress, since 2008. As a funder we believe it is important to understand both the diversity of the organizations we fund and how they engage diverse perspectives in their work.

“We are excited to participate in the GuideStar Exchange effort and encourage others to do so. This builds on the work of many organizations over the past few years, and we are particularly appreciative of the efforts of GuideStar, D5, and Green 2.0 to make this happen. Shared data furthers the possibility of shared understanding and progress across all of our efforts as we support a nonprofit sector that responds to the demographic realities of our nation.”

“Diverse leadership is critical to the success of any organization, and I applaud Green 2.0’s efforts to facilitate an open and honest dialogue on this important issue among green organizations. Climate change affects everyone and together we must leverage a diverse, inclusive coalition to take urgent action and build the advanced energy future our children deserve.”

Tom Steyer

Investor, Philanthropist and Advanced Energy Advocate

Non Profit Organization Statements

“If we’re going to change everything we really do need everyone, and this work is one of many important steps in that direction.”

Bill McKibben

Founder , 350.org

“Earthjustice continues to support this work and we are looking forward to working with Green 2.0, GuideStar and other NGOs to gather information and develop real solutions to the under-representation of people of color in our organization and the environmental movement writ large.”

“Transparency is a key driver of change, and that’s exactly what’s needed if we are to strengthen the environmental movement. Green 2.0 and Guidestar’s work is critical to helping us expand diversity among our staff. At the same time, we must also proactively broaden this conversation beyond our ranks so that Americans from all walks of life embrace our efforts and goals as their own. These are parallel efforts that NRDC is proud to help lead.”

“The Sierra Club is proud to have supported the Green 2.0 report and we look forward to participating in this next phase of collaboration with GuideStar. We are committed to taking a hard look at what still needs to be done within our own organization and instituting policies and practices to ensure that the environmental movement includes everyone who cares about clean air and water. We are working hard to ensure our staff and volunteer leaders reflect the country we live in today, and we are working with diverse communities in the fight to ensure a just and clean environment for all.”

“The Union of Concerned Scientists values data and transparency as critical tools for problem solving on any issue, diversity included. UCS has thus welcomed the call by Green 2.0, GuideStar and D5 to share diversity data, since tracking data at scale, is long overdue. We are committed to helping the partnership improve data collection and encourage all environmental organizations to be part of the solution so that the sector can rigorously assess how our efforts are making a difference.”

“The Nature Conservancy is pleased to support Green 2.0’s diversity data initiative. Increasing transparency is a critical step in closing the diversity gap in the environmental movement. TNC is committed to enhancing diversity both in our offices and the places we work—it’s not just the right thing to do, but it’s essential to achieving our mission. Environmental challenges affect people from all backgrounds. To truly make a difference, we must ensure that our staff, partners, volunteers and supporters reflect the diversity of the communities in which we work.”

Mark R. Tercek

President and CEO, The Nature Conservancy

The Center for Biological Diversity deeply values, and is committed to sustaining and promoting diversity both in the workplace and the world. We believe there is not only an intrinsic link between protecting the diversity of the Earth’s cultures, languages, plants, and animals, but between that work and having a staff diverse in gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, and socio-economic background.

Diversity in all forms, and a profound respect for the multiple possibilities and perspectives that such diversity offers, enables and inspires powerful, creative work. Only such work can meet the challenges of complex and far-reaching global crises such as extinction, climate change and cultural oppression. The embrace of human diversity, like the embrace of biological diversity, is not only a matter of tolerance, fairness, and moral duty; it is a matter of love. We love, and wish to sustain, the astounding variety of human beings and cultures that has arisen on this planet over untold thousands of years.

We are committed to fostering a culture of inclusion within our organization, the environmental movement and the world at large, and believe diversity reporting is positive new step to bring about needed changes.

“Resource Media believes it is a strategic and moral imperative to embrace diversity and inclusion, internally as a learning organization and externally as communicators charged with engaging a wide array of audiences in respectful, authentic ways. Like many organizations in our field, we have a long way to go. We support the new GuideStar survey and look forward to participating. I firmly believe good data and transparency will help us be accountable and meaningfully measure progress.”

“Defenders of Wildlife is a national, non-profit membership organization dedicated to the protection of all native wild animals and plants in their natural communities. Our employees work in an environment that is inclusive and honors each of our unique perspectives and backgrounds. We believe that the conservation of biological diversity is best advanced by the contributions of people of diverse backgrounds, experiences, beliefs and cultures. We look forward to working with Green 2.0 and our colleagues to strengthen our collective goal of including all people in the conservation of our Nation’s wildlife and wild places.”